The Japanese Navy had Corregidor surrounded. On 22 February 1942, General Marshall advises MacArthur that
the President had directed MacArthur to leave Fort Mills and proceed to Mindanao. Finally
on 9 March 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt tells General Douglas MacArthur that he
must leave Corregidor. MacArthur agrees to leave by 15th March 1942.

Japanese patrols are heavy and "Tokyo
Rose" brags to her audience that MacArthur will be captured within a month. Some US
Navy officers give MacArthur only a one-in-five chance of escaping.

MacArthur decides to escape Corregidor by PT boat to Mindanao and fly to Australia from
Del Monte on a B-17 Flying Fortress. MacArthur arranges for himself and his family and
military entourage of 13 officers, two naval officers and a technical sergeant to travel
on four decrepit PT boats of Lt. John Bulkeley's Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3, based at
Bataan. He also ordered three B-17's to fly from Australia to Del Monte airfield on
Mindanao.

MacArthur and his party left Corregidor at dusk in the PT Boats on
11 March 1942. At 6:30 am on 13 March 1942, PT 34 sights Cagayan Point on Mindanao Island.

On 11 March 1942, 1st Lt. Harl Pease
piloted B-17 Flying Fortress #41-2452, from Batchelor airfield to Del Monte. The aircraft
was loaded with emergency supplies for the US
Army Forces in the Philippine Islands. After he took off from Batchelor
airfield, a failure of the hydraulic system rendered the supercharger and wheel
brakes inoperative, which meant a low altitude flight of 1,500 miles and a
landing without brakes. The aircraft had to be ground looped to stop it
in time.

There has been a story that suggests
that General Douglas MacArthur had been at Del Monte when 1st Lt. Harl Pease
arrived. The story goes that the nature of Pease's arrival did not impress MacArthur, and he was even less impressed when he
saw the young pilot of the B-17, 1st Lt. Harl Pease, slide out
of the forward hatch of the aircraft. MacArthur was reported to have muttered
"He's only a boy". The citation for Pease's medal
confirms the date for Pease's flight from Batchelor
to the Philippines as the 11 March 1942. MacArthur had not arrived there until 17 March, so perhaps
the story about MacArthur's statement regarding Pease is untrue.

1st Lt. Harl Pease
unloaded the emergency supplies, had his aircrafts serviced and took off at
night with 16 Air Corps passengers. Pease had to perform another ground loop
when the aircraft landed back in Australia.

When they arrived at Del Monte on Mindanao on 13
March 1942, MacArthur found only one crippled B-17 at the airfield. A few weeks earlier,
several mechanics had arrived at Del Monte to repair the war weary B-18's and B-17's
that scattered the "graveyard" at Del Monte airfield. Once repaired they were
flown back to Australia with as many of the spare parts that were possible.

MacArthur and is party waited on a muddy
airfield at Del Monte for three B-17C Flying Fortresses. These aircraft were the
remnants of those that managed to escape from Clarke Field when the Japanese made a
surprise attack.

Another B-17 Flying Fortress,
#41-2507, piloted by Captain Godman, had left Batchelor
air
field on 13 March 1942. In total darkness and low cloud Godman was forced to
fly on instruments. With the altimeter reading 1,200 feet and the air speed on
170mph, the B-17 struck the water in Illigan Bay. Two crew went down with the plane. Five crew
members swam ashore in the Philippines after four hours in the water. S/Sgt
Wallie J. Hewston, the Engineer on #41-2507 was captured by the Japanese on 10
May 1942 and spent 40 months in Kawasaki (the "Mitsui Madhouse") and then some
time at Hitachi in the mountains north of Tokyo.

MacArthur was furious, and he would not allow
anyone to board these "dangerously decrepit" aircraft which had been
sent to rescue him. He then demanded the
"three best planes in the US or Hawaii," manned by "completely adequate,
experienced" airmen.

Major General George
Brett, who was then
responsible for the rescue plans for MacArthur, was in a quandary. He had more
B-17's that he could send for the rescue, but they were US Navy aircraft based in Townsville. Apparently MacArthur had made it very clear that he did
not want to be "rescued" by US Navy aircraft. Brett at the time was the Commanding
General of the US Forces in Australia.

The three B-17's left Townsville loaded full of sulphur drugs, quinine and
cigarettes for the military forces in the Philippines. Dick Graf told me that
Lewis's aircraft (#41-2429) was fitted out with 25 parachutes, 25 life vests and 25 oxygen
masks. Mechanics had to fit special tee pieces in the aircraft to cater for a
larger number of oxygen masks. Each of the crews had their regular co-pilots
replaced with pilots who were familiar with the airfield at Del Monte.

When they arrived at Batchelor
airfield they were advised for the first time of the details of their
mission. They were to evacuate MacArthur and his party from a small airfield on
a plantation on Mindanao
Island in the Philippines owned by the Del Monte Company. Bomb bay fuel tanks
were installed while they were at Batchelor
airfield
for the 1,425 nautical mile flight. During this time there was a false alarm air
raid warning at Batchelor and they took off
for a short period until the "all clear" was given. They landed again
to finish their preparations for the long flight to Del Monte.

Two of these B-17's took off
from Batchelor airfield on 17 March 1942,
piloted by Lt. Frank Bostrom
and Captain William Lewis, Jr.The flight path to Del Monte, some 1,500 miles away,
took
them between two large Japanese airbases which were only 30 miles apart.

The two B-17's arrived at Del Monte at approximately midnight. The runway was lit with two flares (one at each end) to help them to
land. The B-17 flown by Lt. Frank Bostrom, #41-2447, landed
first followed by the B-17, #41-2429,
flown by Captain William Lewis, Jr. Later that night General Sharp arrived at the airfield with General
MacArthur and his family and a large group of senior officers.

The senior pilot, 1st Lt.
Frank P. Bostrom drunk eight cups of coffee to ready himself for the return flight to
Australia. Dick Graf
from Lewis's crew had a midnight lunch of pineapple and
coffee. In the mean time, mechanics worked feverishly to repair Bostrom's defective
supercharger. Bostrom told MacArthur that his party must leave
their luggage behind. Dick Graf
told me that MacArthur's party had arrived with
an amazing amount of luggage. Captain Lewis also told his passengers that they
could only bring one bag each. Jean MacArthur boarded Bostrom's B-17
carrying only a silk scarf and a coat with a fur collar. MacArthur gave his wife's
mattress to Lt. Bostrom.

Not long after midnight on 17 March 1942, St
Patrick's Day, two B-17's taxied out onto Del Monte airfield, which was again lit by two
flares. MacArthur sat in the radio operator's seat in Bostrom's aircraft. MacArthur's chief of staff, General
Richard Sutherland, was squeezed into the bomb bay. Bostrom's
overloaded B-17 Flying Fortress staggered into the air from Del Monte airfield with one
engine spluttering. A large number of General MacArthur's staff returned to
Australia in Capt. Lewis's aircraft.

One of the little known stories about
the rescue mission was the fact that each aircraft had one stowaway
on board.

MacArthur's four year old son, Arthur
MacArthur, was
initially excited about his first air flight, but after some turbulence he soon became air
sick.Arthur's Chinese amah, Au Cheu also travelled with MacArthur to
Australia.

Their five hour flight took them over the
captured enemy islands of the Celebes, Timor, and the northern part of New Guinea. Somehow
they managed to avoid enemy Zero fighters.

When they reach Darwin, they found that it
was under Japanese attack, so they diverted to Batchelor
airfield, about 50 miles away.
They eventually disembarked from the aircraft at Batchelor
at about 9 a.m. They are all
very weary after their last few days of adventure. MacArthur told Sutherland
"It was
close, but that's the way it is in war. You win or lose, live or die -- and the difference
is just an eyelash."

On 18 March 1942, another B-17 Flying
Fortress, #41-2408, piloted by 1st Lt. Harold N. Chaffin took off from Batchelor
airfield loaded with more emergency supplies.
They landed at Del Monte and took on board the remainder of General
MacArthur's staff along with a number of
valuable records.

A six man detail lead by Lt. Julian from Battery
"A" of the 102nd Coastal Artillery (AA
Separate) Battalion was selected to greet General Douglas MacArthur when he
arrived at Batchelor. MacArthur came directly from
the aircraft to the small group of American soldiers, before turning to the
other waiting groups. Apparently the welcome went something like this:-

Julian - "Glad to have you here
Sir."

MacArthur - "Glad to be here Lieutenant.
So these are the new helmets."

Three minutes later the 102nd CA Bn honour guard
were back in the gun pits or unloading the battalion's incoming planes. They
were in the process of moving from Brisbane to the Northern Territory.

MacArthur asked an American officer about the
build-up of troops in Australia to reconquer the Philippines. The officer told him,
"So far as I know, sir, there are very few troops here." MacArthur was shocked
by this and he said to Sutherland "Surely he is wrong."

The weary group ate a breakfast of canned
peaches and baked beans. The General demanded a motorcade to the nearest train station.
Unbeknown to MacArthur, the nearest train was at
Alice Springs, a thousand miles away.

Jean, his wife, was totally exhausted and her
son Arthur was so exhausted that he was on intravenous feeding. The doctors recommended
against such a long desert drive with inadequate shelter and food.

Once MacArthur and his party arrived at
Batchelor, they transferred to two Australian National Airways
DC-3's. One source reports that there was an
unexpected Japanese air raid warning as they left Batchelor. This
reportedly lead to a rather bumpy and dramatic departure
from Batchelor. It was reported that
again MacArthur was not happy and demanded to know the pilot's name
from Sid Chamberlain. The pilot was Captain R. Carmichael, the Commanding Officer of the 435th Squadron. The exhausted party landed at Alice
Springs some hours later.

M/Sgt. George R. "Dick" Graf
was the radio operator on Lewis's B-17, #41-2429. Dick advised that there was no
unexpected Japanese air raid warning when MacArthur left aboard the DC-3's.

MacArthur and his party must have thought Alice
Springs, resembled an Old West town complete with saloon, wooden boardwalks, and flies.
MacArthur watched a double feature film at the local movie theatre. He had not seen a film
since leaving Manila. They slept on cots on the hotel's verandah.

On 18 March 1942, MacArthur sent his staff
officers south by aircraft. His wife refused to fly any more, so MacArthur ordered a
special train for himself and his family. They travelled the 1,028 miles of narrow gauge
track to Adelaide in South Australia, in a three car wooden train pulled by a steam
locomotive. The journey took 70 hours. They sat in a carriage with two hardboard seats
running lengthwise along the carriage. The second carriage was a diner with a long wooden
table. It also had some washtubs full of ice and an Aussie army stove. The train had to be
stopped to allow the passengers to move from one carriage to the next.

MacArthur's train left Alice Springs
on Wednesday morning. They were looked after by two Australian
sergeants and an Army nurse, Sister H. Geisler. (Does anyone know
the names of the two Australian sergeants?). Sister Geisler accompanied
Mrs. MacArthur during the journey. At one stage the train is pulled up by some sheep farmers who
were after medical assistance from a doctor for one of the farmers. Initially MacArthur
thought they were after a speech from their "war hero".

The train arrived at
Terowie Railway Station about 220 kms north of Adelaide at 2 pm on 20 March
1942. Much to MacArthur's surprise his "secret" arrival in Terowie was
not so secret. A huge cheer went up from the locals who had gathered when he
left the train. General MacArthur responded by striding towards an opening
between a line of railway carriages and saluted the people of Terowie on the
other side of the carriages and some passengers on a nearby train. MacArthur was
dressed in a loose hanging jacket and slacks and wore no decorations or insignia
except for a laurel wreathed peak on his cap and another emblem.

On being asked if this would reach the
United States he said:- "The President of the United States ordered me to
break through the Japanese lines and proceed to
Corregidor to Australia for the purpose, as I understand it, of organising an
American offensive against Japan, the primary purpose of which is the relief of
the Philippines. I came through and I shall return."

It was here that MacArthur made his
first statement to the Australian Press. It was here that his most famous
statement was made "I came out of Bataan and I shall return".

Photo - Terowie Citizens' Ass. Inc.

Mrs Jean MacArthur, their 4 year
old son Arthur MacArthur and General Douglas MacArthur

Photo - Terowie Citizens' Ass. Inc.

General Douglas MacArthur
being greeted by Major Claude Rogers, the CO of
the Terowie Staging Camp
at Terowie Railway station on 20 March 1942.

While at Terowie, MacArthur
inspected a guard of honour of Australian soldiers under the command of Major
G.A.S. Rogers who had served in WW1. MacArthur and his party changed trains at
Terowie before continuing his journey southwards to Adelaide. Mrs Jean MacArthur
spoke to Major Rogers briefly and entered the train with her son Arthur. She was simply
dressed and did not wear a hat.

Late in the afternoon of 21 March 1942, their
train reached Kooringa, 80 miles north of Adelaide. One of his staff officers, Col. Dick
Marshall, who had flown ahead, boarded the train. He has bad news for MacArthur who had
thought that a huge army awaited him in Australia. He was told that their were fewer than
32,000 Allied troops, American, British, and Australian, in the whole country. There were
fewer than 100 aircraft, many primitive Australian Gypsy Moths, with fabric-covered wings,
and propellers that have to be started by spinning them by hand. "God have mercy on
us," MacArthur whispers. It was his greatest shock and surprise of the whole war.

During the journey to Adelaide, MacArthur
received a Priority Telegram from Colonel John A. Robenson, the Commander of US
Base Section No. 5 (Adelaide) saying that information had been received that the
General and his party would be in Adelaide at 1p.m. on 21 March 1942 and would
leave for Melbourne at 7.35pm The telegram asked MacArthur to advise his
pleasure by return wire. It went on to say "The whole of Australia,
especially Adelaide, wishes to welcome you and anything they can do to comply
with your desires they feel cannot be enough."

General MacArthur
sent the following reply to Colonel Robenson from
Maree:-

"Appreciate greatly your
thoughtful message and sentiments you express. Our train is at present running
hours behind schedule and the time of arrival is
doubtful. For this reason and because I wish absolutely no ostentation I
request as much privacy as possible in my passage through Adelaide. The
general circumstances of the entire situation are such that I would appreciate
a minimum of display. I send my personal regards to you."

Their train arrived in Adelaide on the
evening of 21 March 1942. Their special train was then attached to the Melbourne
Express for the trip to Melbourne. News of the General's arrival spread like
wildfire and civilians and soldiers rushed to Adelaide Railway Station to catch
a glimpse of the General. Military and civil police kept the crowds back from
the area.

On his arrival MacArthur was greeted
by Brigadier-General Patrick Hurley of the US Army and other high ranking
officers including Base Commander Brigadier H.L. Bundock. General MacArthur
introduced his wife to a number of American and Australian officers describing
her as "the best soldier I have."

Once in Adelaide, MacArthur moved into a
luxurious private carriage provided by Australia's Commissioner of Railways. The press
clamoured for a statement from the General and MacArthur scrawled on the back of an envelope, "The President
of the United States ordered me to break through the Japanese lines ...for the purpose, as
I understand it, of organizing the American offensive against Japan, a primary object of
which is the relief of the Philippines. I came through and I shall return."

The Adelaide Express arrived at Melbourne's Spencer Street station
on 22 March 1942 at about 9.30am. Travelling in a special carriage, he was accompanied
by
his wife, 4 year old son Arthur MacArthur
and Brigadier General Richard H. Marshall, who was a
member of his staff in the Philippines. They were welcomed at Spencer Street station by a
guard of honour of 360 American troops, an Australian Army band, and more than 6,000
locals. The honour guard were mostly signalmen and engineers wearing white tropical
helmets.

Herb
Jacobs was a Sergeant X-ray technician at the 4th
General Hospital in Melbourne. He took some routine x-rays of Jean MacArthur
and Arthur MacArthur during their short stay at the hospital for a medical
checkup. Shortly after doing these x-rays, Herb was asked to do routine X-rays
on 2 US soldiers, who were brought to the hospital under Military Police guard.
Herb asked them why they were under guard and they told Herb that they had been
in the Philippines when General Macarthur gave the order to leave .....
"FEND FOR YOURSELVES". They said that MacArthur then boarded his
plane with his wife, son and Filipino maid, together with all his furniture, and
departed for Australia. These 2 enterprising soldiers said that they had stowed
away on the planes, and were then charged and incarcerated for overloading the
aircraft.

MacArthur and his party travelled to the Menzies
Hotel in a Wolsley limousine where they occupied the entire 6th floor of the hotel.
MacArthur commandeered the Trustees Executive & Agency
Co. Ltd building at 401 - 403 Collins Street, Melbourne to establish his Headquarters.
His staff worked frantically to turn a hurriedly emptied building into an operational HQ.
They commandeered and "acquired" furniture and typewriters from a variety of
locations.

Jean MacArthur's first task was to summon a
dressmaker to prepare her something to wear on Monday morning, for her shopping expedition
in Melbourne. Her entire wardrobe was left behind in Manilla.

On Wednesday 25 March 1942, Jean MacArthur went
shopping at Myers Emporium in Melbourne. The sales assistant looked at Mrs. MacArthur and
said "SSW. Well, I don't know whether we've got anything."

In April 1942, General Brett
became the Commander of Allied Air Forces in Australia. The
Allied Air Headquarters, SWPA was
established on 20 April 1942 and was located in
Victoria Barracks, in Melbourne.
Bostock was appointed as Brett's Chief of Staff. Air Commodore Hewitt was
appointed as Director of Allied Air Intelligence.

In about June 1942 General
MacArthur advised Washington DC that he wanted General Brett
replaced. The problems with MacArthur's rescue and
some other events such as the failure to reinforce Bataan, had led to MacArthur's
decision. Little did he know that it had been Brett
who had recommended to Washington
that MacArthur become the Supreme Commander of the SWPA (South West
Pacific Area). This command was formally assumed on 18 April 1942.

General Brett
flew back to the USA in his B-17D, Flying Fortress "Swoose" piloted by Major
Frank Kurtz on 4 August 1942. General Bretttook
Brigadier General Perrin back to the States with him. On that same day General George C.
Kenneyofficially took over as Allied Air
Force Commander of the Southwest Pacific Area.

Beryl Sivell told me that her
boyfriend during WW2, Harold Tichman was a bodyguard for Mrs. MacArthur and her
son Arthur MacArthur IV. Harold had been
camped at Yeronga Park in Brisbane for a while and then stayed
at Lennon's Hotel. Harold advised that
Arthur was a bit of a terror of a kid and
he showed Beryl a mark on his leg which he still has which is where he stated
that Arthur had kicked him. Tichman
later accompanied Mrs. MacArthur and her son back to the States.

On 26 March 1942, Gen. Douglas MacArthur
received the citation for his Medal of Honor at a formal dinner in Melbourne. He told the
audience, "I have come as a soldier in a great crusade of personal liberty as
opposed to perpetual slavery. My faith in our ultimate victory is invincible, and I bring
you tonight the unbreakable spirit of the free man's military code in support of our joint
cause."

The audience was delighted. MacArthur continued
that the medal was not "intended so much for me personally as it is a recognition
of the indomitable courage of the gallant army which it was my honor to command."

From then on, liberating the Philippines was his
personal obsession.

On 20 July 1942, General MacArthur moved his
Headquarters to Brisbane. He set up his headquarters in the AMP building on the corner of
Queens and Edward Streets in the heart of the city a few doors away from the General Post
Office. There was a communications centre established in the basement of the AMP building. Colonel Johnston, General MacArthur's personal
physician lived in nearby "Montpelier"
in Wickham Terrace for a number of years while MacArthur was based in the
AMP building.

MacArthur's regular driver while he
was in Brisbane was Sgt. John J. Ulrich ("Blackie"). (Is he still
alive?). Technical Sgt. Clarence E. Hensley (Red) was the driver for MacArthur's
Chief of Staff, General
Richard Sutherland. They went by their nick names of "Red" and
"Blackie".

The military always used the Edward
Street entrance to GHQ SWPA in the AMP building.
They never used the Queen Street entrance to the building. Note the registration No. U.S.A.
1 for MacArthur's staff car. Mrs. MacArthur's car registration was U.S.A. 2.

General Douglas MacArthur's
Wolseley 25HP staff car
outside the Edward St. entrance
to GHQ, SWPA in the AMP
building in 1942. This was the normal entrance to GHQ

The four stars on MacArthur's
Wolseley
indicates the grade of General.
Later on, he was promoted to a five star General of the Army

While he was in Brisbane, General
MacArthur used the motor yacht Shangri-la. The dinghy that MacArthur used from
the "Shangri-La" is now located in the Queensland
Maritime Museum near South Bank Parklands in Brisbane. It was donated to the
Museum by Mr. Alan Campbell.

The dinghy is of unusual construction.
It has a quite heavy frame and a thin timber skin. This was then covered with
canvas and painted. Sister ribs were also then installed
between the normal rib structure to strengthen it. A small inboard motor which
was in use during WW2 was removed after the war.

Dennis Burchill of Bulimba described
the location of the mooring for a motor boat used by General Douglas Macarthur
as follows in his April 2004 "Wartime
Memories of Bulimba". Dennis lived approximately 100 yards from the
Brisbane River at 33 Cowper Street, Bulimba. Perhaps this motor boat was the "Shangri-La":-

In
front of our property was a large area of land with a house right on the river
bank shaped like a railway carriage with a curved iron roof. The Wakefield
family lived there. Outside their property, in the river, were two lovely motor
boats. One was for General Macarthurís use and the other for some other top
brass. They had a permanent Filipino crew on each boat. As the front yard of the
property was vacant land the yanks set up a sawmill there.

There was apparently a farm house near Beaudesert, where MacArthur and his family
would spend some time for relaxation, to get away from all the tumult of city life and official business.
(Can anyone tell me which farm this was?)

MacArthur and many of his staff were
honorary members of the Brisbane Club which was located in a building
adjacent to Anzac Square.

General Douglas MacArthur apparently
had what was referred to as "Bataan Jitters". His hands trembled which is
apparently why he is mostly seen holding his corn cob pipe even when not smoking
it, or with his hands on his hips or holding a walking stick.

Military Policeman PFC John Link of
the 813th MP Co carrying a Thompson
machine gun,
Admiral ?, General Douglas MacArthur and John Curtin, Prime
Minister of
Australia at Sydney Railway Station on 22 July 1942

On 25 March 1944, control of the 13th Air Force
and US Marine Corps air units in the South Pacific Area passed over to General
MacArthur's control.

When General Douglas MacArthur was
in the Philippines in early 1945, he was planning for the expected invasion of
Japan and he decided that he needed a special Army unit to protect him, his
family and key aides. He sent a directive to all U.S. Army units in the South
West Pacific Area looking for a specific number of men, at different stated
ranks to be selected for an Honor Guard
Company.

On Thursday 12 April 1945 at 8 pm, a
University of Queensland Commemoration Ceremony was held at Brisbane City Hall.
At the ceremony the Degree of Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) was conferred on
General Douglas MacArthur, who had nominated a Proxy to receive the Degree on
his behalf. Graduates, Under-Graduates and the general public were cordially
invited.

Stage 1 of the
MacArthur
Museum Brisbane was officially opened by Peter Beattie, the Premier of
Queensland on 15 August 2004, the 59th anniversary of the end of the war in the
Pacific. The Museum is located on the 8th Floor where General Douglas MacArthur
and his senior staff were located. MacArthur's office (Room 806) and that of his
deputy, General Sutherland (room 807) have both been restored as part of the
Museum.

This message announced the signing
of the formal surrender by the Japanese on that day on the battleship Missouri
in Tokyo Bay

This message came into the Signal Center
used by the 832nd Signal Service Company
on the 7th Floor of GHQ, SWPA in the AMP
building in Queen Street, Brisbane. It was received at the overseas radio station
(probably the one at Capalaba) and was transmitted to the
Signal Center via teletype. It was received in "Clear"
Classification.

It was the first message to pass between
Japan and the United States over an Army Circuit since Pearl Harbor. It
was sent from Radio Station WVLX on USS Teton in Tokyo Bay on 2
September 1945. It was a message from the Supreme Commander for the
Allied Forces, General Douglas MacArthur.

MEDALS AWARDED

"Wynnum B Graham" <wbg@bigpond.com>, who lives in Cairns, passed on the
following information to me:-

On 5 April 1942, General Brett issued General
Order No 37, wherein "By direction of the President" DFCs were awarded to five
crews who took part in "an aerial flight against the enemy".

1 1st Lt Pease and six other crew. On 11 Mar 42, flew Batchelor
Field to Philippines, landed without brakes, took off at night with 16 Air Corps
passengers, landed safely in Australia, again without brakes.

2 Captain Godman and six
other crew. On 13 Mar 42, flew from Batchelor
field, bound to Philippines. At dusk, during
letdown for landing, the B-17 struck the water. Two crew went down with the plane. Five
swam ashore Philippines after four hours in the water.

3 1st
Lt Bostrom and seven crew. On 17 Mar 42 [sic] flew from Batchelor
field, to
Philippines, returning to Australia with Gen MacArthur and his personal and official
families.

4 Capt Lewis and seven
crew. On 17 Mar 42 [sic] flew Batchelor field
to Philippines, returned safely to Australia
with a large number of MacArthur's staff.

5 1st
Lt Chaffin and seven crew. On 18 Mar 42 flew from Batchelor
field to Philippines, and
returned safely to Australia with the remainder of MacArthur's staff, and a number of
valuable records.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVERalph M. Knox says he was one of the servicemen to help load the B-17's
which evacuated MacArthur, his family and his entourage of 18 other senior officers.
Knox's book "The Emperor's Angry Guest" says that three B-17's actually left
that night from Del Monte for Australia, not two as reported by other historians. He
remembers that the B-17 that had crashed on 11 March 1942 was repaired using the remaining
spare parts left at the airfield. They then filled that B-17 with "footlockers,
crates of clothing and fur coats, pipe tobacco, several straight back chairs, little
Arthur MacArthur's toys, one rocking chair and two particularly heavy mattresses".

Knox's story also differs from the historians in
that he states that there were four B-17s in the first rescue attempt not three. They were
rumoured to have flown from Darwin, Australia. One of these arrived on 11 March
1942. He reported that it was in such bad shape that it was grounded. One of the
others had crashed into the ocean off Mindanao and the other two had turned back midway.

According to Knox there were a number of
American nurses that could have been also evacuated instead of "Mrs. MacArthur's fur
coats and the General's pipe tobacco."

Did General MacArthur live in a
large house in Los Negros?
Afraid not!

Were you amongst the crew of
the two B-17's
that rescued MacArthur and his party?

Or are you related to one of
the crew members?

If you are, I'd love to hear
from you.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Bill Bentson for
his assistance with this home page, in particular for providing the above
photographs of MacArthur's staff car, etc.

I'd like to thank Marina Gray for
her assistance with information on MacArthur's arrival at Terowie.

I'd like to thank Beryl Sivell for
the information on Mrs. MacArthur's bodyguard, Harold Tichman.

I'd like to acknowledge the late "Dick"
Graf for his assistance with this home page. "Dick" was the radio
operator on Captain Lewis's aircraft. Dick went on to be the radio operator in
B-17 "Sally", General Kenney's
private aircraft.

I'd like to thank Douglas Walker for
providing the above photographs.

I'd like to thank Herby Jacobs for
his assistance with the story about X-raying Jean and Arthur MacArthur and the
two stowaways.

I'd like to thank Geoff Hewston, the
son of S/Sgt Wallie J. Hewston, the Engineer on #41-2507, for his assistance
with this web page.

I'd like to thank Karen Nunan and
Dean Prangley for
their assistance with this web page.